MIAMI – Tropical Storm Gustav ormed in the central Caribbean on Monday and was heading for the Dominican Republic and Haiti, the National Hurricane center said.
At 2 p.m. EST reports from an Air Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicated that the storm had maximum winds near 60 mph.
Earlier in the day, when the storm was a tropical depression, forecasters said its center would be moving near or over southwestern Haiti on Tuesday.
The Dominican Republic and Haiti both issued tropical storm warnings for the southern and western parts of the island shared by the two countries.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Julio continued to move up Mexico’s Baja California peninsula but was expected to weaken to a tropical depression.
The storm drenched the resort-studded southern Baja California with heavy rains Sunday as authorities evacuated more than 2,500 families living along riverbeds near the coast.
By early Monday, tropical storm warnings for the southern tip of Baja California were discontinued but remained in effect farther north on the peninsula’s west coast from Punta Abreojos to Santa Fe and along the east coast from La Paz to Mulege.
[SOURCE: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26367291]
